Hey. I know, I know. I procrastinated on updating for so long. But I was gone thursday and friday so I had so much work to catch up on that I just sat there and cried yesterday night. Yup. That's how much work I had. And I still have that much work, but I've decided to take a break to update. So be grateful!!!

This is basically a fluff chapter with no substance at all. With all the drama last chapter, I thought we needed some fun. And for all those people who guessed Hiro Nakamura from Heroes, whooo!!! Gold stars all around! I just adore his powers and they'd be really cool to work with in this story, so bam! Hiro spawn! But don't worry about him yet. We have a good dozen plus chapters until he shows up.

Anywhoo, enjoy! ;)

I was exhausted; Jasper could feel my exhaustion, so it was Emmett at the wheel again. I was in the back seat with Seth so I could curl up against him and attempt to sneak in a few hours of sleep. He had forgiven me first thing in the morning, even going as far as bringing breakfast to my bed, that little sucker. Not that I minded. I dozed in and out of it for hours, waking up at noon long enough to scarf down some burgers with Seth, then drifting back asleep. Of course, I had showered this morning so the awful, day after make-up was gone, but, just to prove that I was a girl (Emmett hadn't seen me in my cute dress yesterday) I wore a brown sheath dress, gray leggings, and black booties, all courtesy of the midget girl, instead of my regular jeans and a t-shirt combo. Raspberry lipstick stained my lips. It really did make a difference. Seth had to growl at Emmett for looking at me the wrong way this morning. Even Jasper complimented me. Nice. Of course, Seth looked embarrassed about having a "girl" for a sister, but he'll get over it.

I yawned and finally sat up, "It's five already?" I said, glancing at the clock.

"Yeah. We've been in Chicago for a while now." Seth said.

I looked out the window and a brightly colored billboard caught my eye, "Ooh! The carnival's in town! Let's go!"

Emmett groaned, "We always do what you want to do! Motorcross's also in town and we decided to check that out!"

Twenty minutes later, we were parking in at the carnival. I was excited. I hadn't been at a real carnival, only the lame, two ride ones at Seattle, which so didn't count, in years. I grabbed Seth's hand and off we went. It was mostly families with little kids or young couples holding hands here. We stuck out like a sore thumb. Seth and I alone probably wouldn't have drawn too much attention and Jasper and Emmett alone would have only drawn attention from the female population, but here we were, a gang of giant, good-looking twenty-year-olds who didn't seem to like each other with one teenage boy… Nice.

A bright purple, gigantic, swerving roller coaster at the center of the carnival caught my eye. I tugged on Seth's arm, "Ooh, let's go on that, Sethy," I said, pointing at it. But his eyes were on something else. The arcade and carnival games. He looked back and forth between me and the games, giving me his best puppy dog eyes.

"Please?"

I sighed, "Then who's gonna go on that bigass roller coaster with me?" I knew for a fact that Seth had a weak stomach when it came to rides like that.

Emmett's eyes brightened as well when he heard people on the ride screaming from the top, "Let's go, girly wolf."

I hesitated, glancing back at Seth, but he seemed fine, already walking off to the arcade with Jasper. I grinned at meathead, "This might be too scary for you."

He raised an eyebrow at me, "Me?! I bet you ten bucks you'll scream."

"Make that twenty and caramel corn and you're good," He smirked at me, but shook my hand, nonetheless. We made way to the roller coaster. Ha. What leech boy didn't know was that I was the master of roller coasters, bungee jumps, cliff diving, etc, etc. I'd be beyond surprised if I didn't fall asleep on this.

A few minutes later, we were strapped into our seats. I dangled my feet off the ground and idly reached my hand out past the hard harness around my chest. They really didn't want you to fall out of this one. That fact alone should excite me, but instead I looked at the harness in distaste. It would only hinder my experience with a sense of security. I preferred your old fashioned roller coasters where you're barely sitting on a rickety rackety track with barely anything to keep you from tumbling out. That's real danger there. Next to me, I swear I could see Emmett shaking. "Do you wanna hold my hand?" I cooed.

He looked at my offered limb in disgust and shook his head, "Nah. You're gonna want mine when you're screaming like a baby," he shot back, looking so confident, I hated to burst his bubble.

"Fine. We'll just see," I tried to keep the arrogance out of my voice, but it was difficult not to. The harness around us tightened and we began to slowly move. The teenage girls in front of us shrieked with excitement.

"Shouldn't you be joining your kind?" he referred to the teeny boppers.

I scoffed, "Puh-leeze. Is that the best you can do? Go take some roids, you overdone Vin Diesel wannabee."

He glared at me, "Let me get you a litter box for when you wet yourself."

I opened my mouth to retort back, but suddenly we were flung over the edge of the roller coaster, rocketing down in an almost freefall. My breath whooshed out of my mouth, but luckily, I didn't scream… Ok, I'll admit it; this was a much quicker pace than I was expecting.

"I hope a vulture mistakes you for a piece of meat and deflates those overrated muscles with its pecking!" I yelled as we were sent flying upside down and in loopy doops. I realized that people below could probably hear my words more clearly than Emmett could, but I didn't care. I was on a roll, "I hope your man-boobs explode from over-exertion! I hope your reflection finally gives up on trying to look like you! I hope-" But the ride was already over.

Emmett seemed a little dazed, his hair windswept, as we undid our harnesses. I grinned as I hopped off, "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" I wasn't the only one who noticed the large dent in his harness…

***

I was on my second cotton candy before we finally met up with Seth and Jasper. I had tried to beg Emmett (and even to seduce him… keep that on the down low…) into going for another round on the roller coaster, but he refused and instead we went on the merry-go-rounds… I felt sorry for the unicorn he was riding on. It would never look the same.

I tugged on Emmett's arm when he looked too interested in a strength testing game, "I think I saw Seth and BS," I said, and sure enough, they were right in front of us.

"Hey, how was the roller coaster?" Seth cheerfully asked.

I scowled as I saw that he was completely loaded with stuffed animals, "You might as well have Emmett arm wrestle the Toys-R-Us CEO."

Seth scowled right back, "You didn't even see what I got you!" He pulled out a plushie from his blob of toys and handed it to me.

Emmett laughed when he saw it was the ugliest gray cartoon wolf with blue eye shadow and pouting red lips. I eyed it at an arm's length, "What? Something to remember you by?"

Seth sniffed in indignation, "Oh, come on, Leah! It's obviously you."

"Right… a mini-me… Er, thanks?"

"You're welcome!" He brightly chirped. God, it was annoying how bipolar Seth was sometimes.

"Was the roller coaster fun?" Jasper gently asked, leaning against a random stall we stood next to. I expected someone as cool and measured as him to stick out like Matthew McConaughey at a yard sale. Instead, he seemed to blend in perfectly, not a hint of unease on his face. Besides the constant female eye turned his way, there seemed to be nothing unusual about the pale, but seemingly nice man. Damn his charisma.

I grinned at him, "Emmett peed himself."

He glared at me, "Did not!"

"Fine. Do you wanna go again?"

"Um…" He suddenly looked uncomfortable, "I don't think it's fair if I go again with you. It's favoritism! I'm just trying to be fair to Seth!"

I gave him a look, "Seth's weak stomach can't take roller coasters."

"Hey!" Seth exclaimed in outrage, "That's not true!"

"Do you wanna go?"

"No…" He sheepishly said.

"God, you guys are lame! I don't wanna go by myself!"

"I'll go."

We all turned to stare at Jasper. I blinked, a slow smile appearing on my face, "Can you handle it, cowboy?"

Four rides later, I decided that he definitely could. Every time we whooshed down the narrow dive, my heart flew in my throat and a smile appeared on his face… Hmm. He probably just liked my adrenaline rush. I suppose vampires couldn't get those; their hearts were kind of dead.

It was actually kind of nice, though riding with anyone after Emmett was considered nice. It was like things changed after that night on the roof. I no longer grimaced when he spoke to me or thought of scratching those pretty tawny eyes out when he smiled at me. I no longer felt disgust around him… Not after last night, how could I? It wasn't quite love, but hate was far in the distance. Besides, who could possibly hate that heart-stopping Texan accent? Yuck. The word "heart-stopping." Next thing you know, I'll be writing poetry on heart shaped pads from the light of scented candles at three in the morning, all dedicated to the blond leech. And I'll have a picture of Jasper with a morph of what our baby would look like at the bottom. And I'll sign my name Mrs. Leah Hale Whitlock Cullen, whatever the hell his last name is… Maybe I'll just make worshipping Jasper a new religion. Yup. I'm that cool.

Pissed off at myself, I stormed off after the fourth ride. Emmett smirked at us from behind the bar, "Couldn't take Jazz?"

A muscle in my jaw twitched, "I think you insulted BS more than me with that retarded nickname." I violently grabbed Seth's arm and dragged him away. He was surprisingly devoid of all stuffed toys, but then again, I saw a little girl who looked like she won the lottery with plushies near the merry-go-rounds.

Seth frowned, "I think it's cute."

"Yeah? So are kittens and third graders with bubble blowers. Are you really comparing Jazzy with that?"

Seth looked uncomfortable. "I love how warm and bubbly you are," Jasper sarcastically drawled, directly behind me. Surprised at the cold breath down my neck, I jumped. Emmett snickered, so I had to glare at them both.

"Let's go."

"But we haven't seen the acrobats yet!" Seth whined.

"Or the bearded lady!" It wasn't as efficient from Emmett.

I sighed, "Fine. Ten more minutes."

"If you wanna see a bearded lady, just check out Leah before she shaves in the mornings," Seth sniggered.

I slapped the back of his head, "Five minutes."

***

The five minutes turned out to be an hour. Watching men with no self respect in glittery red outfit chuck themselves out of cannons wasn't all that bad, actually. It's the overweight lady with the beard nearly reaching her knees that made my stomach churn. Especially since Emmett was staring curiously at me the entire time, as though hair was suddenly going to spring from my chin. I had to whack him in the back of the head for that, good riddance.

Now we were all in the swanky hotel the vamps got for us, and, for once, we were all in the same room. Emmett and Seth were glued to Monster Truck racing, or fighting, or stunt driving or whatever they do, on TV and Jasper was casually reading a book near the wide lake-side window. I, on the other hand, wasn't so peaceful.

"Where's my goddamn- Ugh! What the hell is this?" I exclaimed, pulling out a jumpsuit- a fucking jumpsuit from Alice's bag.

"Looks good," Seth said without even looking my way.

"What am I? Like three?" Annoyed, I dug further. Most of the outfits, which had all been jammed in so tightly that it was nearly impossible to get them back in, were too casual. I tossed those on the bed. The seriously freaky and ugly ones, like the jumpsuit, went on the ground where I'd burn them later. I needed something nicer, like the black sequined dress I wore yesterday, but fancier than the brown dress I currently wore. I swear, Alice's bag was like Mary Poppins'. Where did it all come from? Finally, I found a white dress, but I hissed as I held it up against me, "What the hell?! Is Alice trying to marry me off?!" Three pair of male eyes turned to me.

"I guess it kinda looks like a wedding dress…" Seth cautiously said, not knowing whether he wanted to offend me or Alice.

Emmett snorted with laughter, "Let's pass Vegas on the way home and get you someone from the dog pound."

"Ha ha!" I sarcastically bit, chucking the extravagant dress at his head, "But it's your size, Emmett!"

Before Emmett could retort with something equally lame, Jasper cut in. He knew, from experience, how long our burning sessions could last, "What are you looking for, Leah?"

I frowned at him for a second before pulling out a red silk blouse, "Aha!" This would look amazing with the black skirt I found earlier. I grabbed both and headed to the bathroom, not answering Jasper's question. He'd find out soon enough. I quickly changed, fluffed out my hair so it spilled over my shoulders in waves, and replaced my raspberry gloss with cherry red lipstick. Satisfied, I walked back out to look for shoes.

Emmett whistled in response, "Damn, girly wolf, what's up with the hotness?"

I ignored him and grinned as I found red heels, "I have a date."

"What?!" Three voices, identical in their skepticism, echoed.

I bit my lip as I considered my heels. Then, I opted for black flats instead as I remembered my date's height. "Yeah, a date. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes." Emmett honestly responded.

I glared at him, "Rhetoric question, sweetie. You don't answer those."

"But… but," Seth spluttered, "How come we didn't notice someone asked you out all of today? We were with you like every second!"

I shrugged, slipping on the shoes, "He asked me after Emmett finished puking when I was getting my cotton candy. I guess he was too intimidated to ask me in front of all you guys."

"Damn right!" Emmett crowed.

"And you said yes?!" Seth was in utter disbelief.

Here we go again. Seth with his overprotectiveness was going to kill me. I shouldn't have told them. I should have just left and had them wondering. Or better, I should have told them I was working a blood drive or something. Jasper and Emmett would have definitely stayed away then. But what about Seth? Hmm… A blood drive where we all had to dress up as clowns! Seth hated those things! He couldn't even get through The Dark Knight.

"Yup," I shrugged, "He's cute." The phone suddenly rang. Though Jasper was closer, I reached over to answer it, "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Miss Leah Clearwater?"

"Yeah. What's up?"

"There's a young man in the lobby to meet you. Should I let him up?"

"Yeah. Sure."

"Alright. He's coming up."

"Thank you." I hung up and straightened my blouse, "How do I look?"

Emmett whistled again while Seth just crossed his arms over his chest and fumed. "You look very nice, Leah."

I grinned at Jasper. Thank god for southern gentlemen. "Thanks," I grabbed the black purse from the bed, but winced as I banged my ankle against the table next to the bed. I groaned and plopped down on the couch next to the other two.

"I get to meet him," Seth huffed under his breath.

I rolled my eyes, "Sure, bro." I examined my ankle. It was definitely bruised. I needed ice… Or better. I eyed the vampire next to me. "Emmett, give me your hand."

"Why?" But he handed it over, nonetheless.

I grabbed his icy hand and placed it on my ankle. I hissed slightly as the coldness met my burning skin. Emmett raised his eyebrow at me, "Is this some form of foreplay?"

I scoffed, "I bruised my ankle, dim-wit."

Before he could reply, there was a knock on the door. I jumped up to answer it, but Seth was quicker. He rushed to the door and opened it, blocking the doorway from me. A nervous redhead with flowers awaited him. "Oh, hello Ethan," Seth lazily said, though malice flashed in his eyes, "Do you have a last name?"

"Um, Russo?"

"Leah, he's an Italian!" He hissed, not so slyly at me.

"So?!" I hissed back, annoyed, "Let me past!"

"The Volturi were Italian!"

"And Jasper was pro-slavery and probably shot down our ancestors in Bacon's rebellion, but we don't judge him, do we?"

"Oy, Leah? Vhat eez taking you so long? Come back to ze bed!" Damn Emmett and his good French accent. I could see Ethan pale already.

"Are those for me?" I reached over Seth's oversized head to grab the roses, "Thanks, they're beautiful!" I had to yell a little to get the message over Seth's obesity. I dumped the flowers on the counter, but Seth was still in my way. It was only now that I realized my brother was interrogating Ethan with enough malevolence to scare terrorists.

"Where do you go to school?"

"Er, Chicago State, sir."

"How old are you?"

"Tweny-one."

"What's your middle name?"

"Er, Timothy?"

"Ethan Timothy Russo," Seth slowly said, letting the syllables roll off his tongue, "Doesn't really sound that put together does it? What, did your parents mess up in naming you?"

"It's my grandpa's name."

"Oh." Seth was silent for a second.

"Seth!" I moaned, trying to shove past him.

"Can you support Leah?" He quickly recovered, "How much do you make in a year?"

"Er, I'm just a student, sir."

"I see…" Seth's eyes narrowed, as though that was pathetic.

"Oy, Leah! I'm already naked! Vhat is ze holdup? Join moi!"

I turned furiously, but Emmett was innocently looking at the TV. I looked at Jasper for help, but he was simply laughing at me, those infuriating golden eyes twinkling at me in amusement. Pissed off, I finally managed to shove past Seth. I quickly grabbed Ethan's arm, "Sorry about that," I quickly said, a little breathlessly.

"Bring her back by seven!" Seth yelled after us.

"It's seven-thirty already!" I yelled back. Before he could say anything more, I pushed Ethan in the elevator. He looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Er, friends of yours?"

"The guy in the doorway was my brother, but he thinks he's my dad or something, that little prick."

"And the other two?"

I frowned. What would I consider Emmett and Jasper, "An annoying friend who thinks he's all macho and God's gift to women and…" How would I describe Jasper? How was he related to me, really? "His brother…" I lamely finished.

"Oh… Why are you all…?"

"I didn't want to, trust me," I quickly defended myself, but decided to tell him anyways, "My annoying brother tricked me into a quest for Niagara Falls with Emmett, the big one, and Jasper tagged along to make sure we didn't kill each other, and… yeah. I got sucked up in this long-ass road trip, which really sucks because none of us like each other very much… In fact, that's an understatement. I'll pummel those cocksucking, mother-" Suddenly I realized how uncomfortable Ethan was. So he was a shy, modest one! Oh, god! So much for first impressions. We walked out to the lobby together, but suddenly things were all awkward… I sighed loudly.

Here we go…

This was supposed to be two chapters, but I felt so bad for my ever-so-patient readers that I made it one long one. And while I'm typing this author's note, I'm trying to draw a picture of the rainforest for my spanish project. So, needless to say, I have to go now.

Reviews = love!!!

p.s. Do you know what's really creepy??? My friend got brain surgery a couple days ago, so he had to shave a line along his head where they cut it open and there are like huge crazy looking staples in the back of his head!!! It looks like he has a zipper there! It's perfect for Halloween and oh so disgusting! I screamed the first couple of times I saw it. Ew. :( But I do try to sympathize... poorly.